The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance?

M!TCH
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? Mar 30, 2012 15:09:05 GMT -5

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Post by M!TCH on Mar 30, 2012 15:09:05 GMT -5

Hey guys, there was a few interesting comments in another thread about whether or not ATC should be added to the main database (www.bubblegumdancer.com/projects.php). I agree that whatever the genre of a project really boils down to personal opinion.

It's always been really difficult choosing certain projects to list on the main site, especially if *SOME* of their music is bubblegum dance and some of it isn't.

I may have to eventually start making polls for certain projects to see what genre people think they are. Do you think this would be a good idea?

Personally, I do think "ATC" is more of a pop group rather than bubblegum dance though, especially their second album. But I can definitely see how "My Heart Beats Like A Drum" has bubblegum influences, especially if you relate it to some of the music already in the database.

Exceptions on the site:

The German children's pop groups (Banaroo, BeFour, Cherona). Many people would consider them bubblegum pop, or just pop for children, but I have listed them on the site because the song topics and overall style of their music is very similar to bubblegum dance, even if not all of their songs are dance songs.
Lolly - she is technically not bubblegum dance but her music is very close. Her first album, in particular, is very close to the bubblegum genre in both style and sound.
Djumbo is an interesting project because their first album, and many of their releases following, are VERY much bubblegum dance. But I guess overall they are not really considered solely a bubblegum dance project, and that's probably where the confusion comes up.
Rebecca. Rebecca technically is not bubblegum dance at all, but I have her listed on the site because she is quite an unknown project, and her music was produced/written by a couple of people who are well-known in the bubblegum genre. Also, I thought it was important to list her because she is well-known in dancemania and DDR - two platforms that are well linked to the bubblegum dance genre.
Zoom. Their album in 1999 was known for its variety of different styles, and bubblegum dance was experimented with twice ("I Can't Help Myself" and "Boys Like Me"). The real reason I ensured that this project was listed in the database, however, is because they were produced by Hartmann & Langhoff and Jam & Delgado wrote the song "I Can't Help Myself."

There were a few projects that I had listed on the old site that won't be transferring to the new database, simple because I don't believe they are bubblegum dance (and I'm unsure why I listed them earlier):

Q-Pow! - Very much a eurodance group, with the exception of a few happy songs. It gets confusing, however, when you compare their stuff with their old alias "Big Time" which I feel is a more bubblegum project. Who would be opposed to me listing "Big Time" on the site instead of "Q-Pow!"?
Solid Base - They had a couple of bubblegum dance songs, specifically "I Do" (their only true bubblegum song) and a few Vengaboys inspired tracks - Sha La Long and This Is How We Do It. However, in all I think "Solid Base" belongs in the eurodance category.

I'm really curious to hear people's comments on this, my decisions, and what projects should be added or excluded in the future?

Last Edit: Mar 30, 2012 15:09:46 GMT -5 by M!TCH

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h4rbert
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? Mar 30, 2012 17:56:56 GMT -5

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Post by h4rbert on Mar 30, 2012 17:56:56 GMT -5

I'm guessing that the goal of the database is to chart all BGD songs.
That's why I think, that as long as people clearly can identify individual songs as being a part of the happy and childish BGD-genre we all love, they should be added in some way.
So people like myself for not so long ago can find songs they've completely forgotten about or even entirely new ones.

If I for example hadn't the luck to have heard these ATC-songs from my early childhood, then I'd probably never would have found out about them here.

A voting poll would be the best way to find out whatever the majority of us think.

Last Edit: Mar 30, 2012 18:08:55 GMT -5 by h4rbert

M!TCH
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? Mar 30, 2012 19:16:29 GMT -5

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Post by M!TCH on Mar 30, 2012 19:16:29 GMT -5

I'm guessing that the goal of the database is to chart all BGD songs.
That's why I think, that as long as people clearly can identify individual songs as being a part of the happy and childish BGD-genre we all love, they should be added in some way.

That's very true, and I hadn't thought of it that way. Do you think then, that artists such as "Solid Base" should technically be included, because they have one or two songs that can be considered bubblegum dance?

It's difficult because there are a lot of artists that experimented with the bubblegum dance genre, but didn't solely base their project on that style. The question arises whether or not we should list projects that are strictly bubblegum dance, or ALL projects that had even ONE bubblegum dance song.

Technically, the statistics aren't currently correct anyway, because not all of the songs listed on Bubblegum Dancer are "bubblegum eurodance." www.bubblegumdancer.com/bgdsongs.php
For example, Aqua's album "Megalomania" and Daze's second album "They Came To Rule."

Does anyone have any ideas for a solution? Perhaps I could add a few different "variables" to each song specifying the genre more. For example, sub-labeling it "Pop/Dance," "Eurodance," "Trance" etc.

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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? Mar 31, 2012 6:16:04 GMT -5

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Post by h4rbert on Mar 31, 2012 6:16:04 GMT -5

Mar 30, 2012 19:16:29 GMT -5 M!TCH said:

Do you think then, that artists such as "Solid Base" should technically be included, because they have one or two songs that can be considered bubblegum dance?

Personally, yes, I believe that they should be included.

I mean the database shouldn't just contain projects that's considered primary BGD, but all songs that belongs to the genre.

You could add new projects and just keep their BGD songs on focus, then having the others just listed on the discography.
Perhaps also add something like "Although not primary a BGD project, these are a few very noticeable exceptions".

EDIT: I would have put all projects in two different categories, primary Bubblegum dance projects and other projects that has been making Bubblegum dance music. Then specified which genre they as a group would belong to in their respective description.

Last Edit: Mar 31, 2012 10:15:37 GMT -5 by h4rbert

M!TCH
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? Mar 31, 2012 16:07:13 GMT -5

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Post by M!TCH on Mar 31, 2012 16:07:13 GMT -5

Mar 31, 2012 6:16:04 GMT -5 h4rbert said:

Mar 30, 2012 19:16:29 GMT -5 M!TCH said:

Do you think then, that artists such as "Solid Base" should technically be included, because they have one or two songs that can be considered bubblegum dance?

Personally, yes, I believe that they should be included.

I mean the database shouldn't just contain projects that's considered primary BGD, but all songs that belongs to the genre.

You could add new projects and just keep their BGD songs on focus, then having the others just listed on the discography.
Perhaps also add something like "Although not primary a BGD project, these are a few very noticeable exceptions".

EDIT: I would have put all projects in two different categories, primary Bubblegum dance projects and other projects that has been making Bubblegum dance music. Then specified which genre they as a group would belong to in their respective description.

It sounds like a good idea, for sure, but unfortunately I won't be able to do it to the extent that you wish for. I simply don't have the time to list ALL of the projects that had even ONE true bubblegum song - it would mean gathering and formatting information, entering all of the discography information, song information... it would just take me too long at this stage. :/ Hopefully in the future though.

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rick
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 5, 2012 12:53:02 GMT -5

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Post by rick on May 5, 2012 12:53:02 GMT -5

Considering there have been reports to upwards of 6,000 known bubblegum songs, it would be quite a task to compile & page all of the 3,000+ solitary tracks!

edit:

How is Rebecca NOT bubble? Her music is upbeat, with "Oh yeah yeah" cheesy high-pitch vocals and melodies. "Going Crazy" also has the catchy Vengaboys backbeat. ?I am really confused by everyone else's criteria for Bubblegum cuz I really must have had it wrong from the get-go! Oops... Vengaboys aren't Bubblegum, are they? :sigh: I guess it's up to each own interpretation...

Last Edit: May 5, 2012 13:01:54 GMT -5 by rick

M!TCH
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 5, 2012 15:41:05 GMT -5

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Post by M!TCH on May 5, 2012 15:41:05 GMT -5

May 5, 2012 12:53:02 GMT -5 rick said:

Considering there have been reports to upwards of 6,000 known bubblegum songs, it would be quite a task to compile & page all of the 3,000+ solitary tracks!

edit:

How is Rebecca NOT bubble? Her music is upbeat, with "Oh yeah yeah" cheesy high-pitch vocals and melodies. "Going Crazy" also has the catchy Vengaboys backbeat. ?I am really confused by everyone else's criteria for Bubblegum cuz I really must have had it wrong from the get-go! Oops... Vengaboys aren't Bubblegum, are they? :sigh: I guess it's up to each own interpretation...

Well, the way I see it is that "Bubblegum dance" was a term invented to describe those original groups such as Aqua, Hit'n'Hide, Miss Papaya, Crispy and Toy-Box who sang about childish topics in a eurodance style with high pitched vocals. That very particular style was hard to label as before hand these groups were just described as pop/dance or eurodance. The reason why it is so difficult to pinpoint some acts as being "bubblegum dance" is because there are variations in the genre. Many artists have picked up traits of bubblegum dance productions, and as a result there aren't many TRUE examples of real bubblegum dance. For example, Rebecca's music may be happy and upbeat but all of her music is about love and she sings in her normal voice, giving her only a couple of elements of true bubblegum dance. Also, the German bubblegum pop groups such as Banaroo and Yoomiii are probably considered more children's pop, though a lot of their music is upbeat.

I think I will adjust the definition on the main site to make my definition of bubblegum dance more clear. I am also going to introduce a new sub genre labeling system for the site which will put all of the projects on the main site into new sub-labels.

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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 5, 2012 17:29:52 GMT -5

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Post by Irk on May 5, 2012 17:29:52 GMT -5

I do miss the sub-labels, so it'll be fun to see those come back. ^-^

I... can't contribute much to the debate, unfortunately. XD; I notice I like most things that can be conceivably described as bubblegum dance, but I tend to use genres more to help me discover other things rather than to pigeon-hole what I already listen to. Too often, I see people get elitist over what makes TRUE (genre) and how anyone who listens to "fake" examples of (genre) or even any (different genre entirely) isn't a REAL fan of (genre). It's a very aggravating game that I refuse to play.

For purposes of the site, though, I do think it'd be simpler to just limit it to artists who are primarily bubblegum dance, since to do the whole "add any artist that has a single example song" sounds like it'd get way out of hand very quickly. I remember on one of the old layouts, though, there was a page along the lines of "artists that aren't primarily bubblegum dance, but have done some songs in the style", where artists like ATC, B*Witched, and Solid Base were listed - no discography info, really, just the artist name and a couple track names. Would that be a workable compromise, maybe?

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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 5, 2012 20:43:10 GMT -5

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Post by h4rbert on May 5, 2012 20:43:10 GMT -5

We could just have a list of all BGD-songs from "non-dedicated" projects. Then just have the project name appear next to each one of them. It's more important to include those BGD-songs, and not information about every band who once contributed with a song or two to the genre.

M!TCH
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 5, 2012 22:24:58 GMT -5

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Post by M!TCH on May 5, 2012 22:24:58 GMT -5

May 5, 2012 20:43:10 GMT -5 h4rbert said:

We could just have a list of all BGD-songs from "non-dedicated" projects. Then just have the project name appear next to each one of them. It's more important to include those BGD-songs, and not information about every band who once contributed with a song or two to the genre.

Yes, very true. I think I'll look into doing this

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joze84
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The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 12, 2012 5:04:08 GMT -5

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Post by joze84 on May 12, 2012 5:04:08 GMT -5

Great topic.
It's hard to make difference to BGD and eurodance.
I think that Solid Base is not BGD and Vengaboys would be very close.
ATC and B*Witched are just pop music.
I like all of those projects.
This page should be specially just for bubblegum dance music.

rick Lemon Bubblegum Happy 2019 !!! Posts: 915	The on-going debate: Is this bubblegum dance? May 13, 2012 22:40:38 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by rick on May 13, 2012 22:40:38 GMT -5 The Vengaboys is what I think is most interesting because there are a lot of Bubblegum songs that were more influenced by Vengaboys than Aqua.